Dried Eggs and Dumping

Dried Eggs and Dumping One of the clearest illustrations of dumping is the recent dried egg deal of our own government. The gov ernment bought huge quantities of eggs at high prices in order to support the egg market in this country. The eggs were dried and stored for some time in a Kansas cave. Eventually the government, feeling that it had to get rid of the dried eggs, dumped them (or gave them away) on world markets and at home at prices far be low the government's cost of production-purchase price, processing, storage, etc. Actually, dumping is more a fear and an illusion than an actuality. Steel producers, for example, may fear that some hostile foreign power may dump steel into America for a long enough period to cause some of our steel com panies to fail or go out of business, thus withering away some of our productive capacity. This is merely a theoret ical argument based on a groundless fear. Should some foreign power attempt to do this, it would seem a simple solution for American steel companies. or steel users to buy up all the steel offered at the low prices, keeping their own plants in a stand-by condition until the foreign source of supply is exhausted or the dumpers go broke.

Finally, once the theory of imposing tariffs to prevent 59 dumpinE is adopted, what is to prevent its being used every time a foreign product can be sold in this country at a price below that for which our producers can manu: facture and sell it? Dumping is not unlike "price cutting" and "loss lead ers," as used domestically. Any attempt to prevent these practices by law is an invasion of private property rights; it will lead to a pyramiding of controls, which in turn must lead to a straitjacketing of industry and commerce. When that happens, freedom will be only a theory to read about in the history books. Helping Backward Areas Much has been said in recent years about helping backward areas of the world. There are backward areas in the United States; there are backward states, back ward counties, backward communities-yes, and back ward individuals within each community. Variation is a law of nature; so long as there are individuals, some will be better off than others. Some will seem to be back ward in the eyes of others. But to talk about it is futile.